Can People Really Mistake a Bear for a Dog, as This Family Claims?

Obvious differences set wild animals apart from domesticated ones, but mix-ups happen more often than you might think.

A surprised family in China discovered that their family ‘dog’ was actually a bear when it wouldn’t stop growing.

PUBLISHED May 16, 2018

This week, news of a family in China who had allegedly thought they had adopted a Tibetan mastiff was circulating after it was revealed that the dog was, in fact, an Asiatic black bear. The family, who had raised the bear for two years on boxes of fruit and buckets of noodles, told local media they couldn’t figure out why the animal kept growing, and were reportedly surprised to learn of its true identity.

However, it’s hard to mistake wild animals for domesticated ones, experts say. Lynn Cuny, founder and president of Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in San Antonio, says young wild animals have a different look and smell to them compared to domesticated pets. Wild animals will be more scared and anxious in unfamiliar environments with humans than their domesticated counterparts might be.

“You never think you’re hearing a dog or a puppy when you hear a bear,” Cuny says. “My first reaction to this is that there’s something more going on here than just an honest mistake. This should never happen.”